Selene

“What did you do?” Gideon’s voice cut through the room like ice, each word sharp and furious. I spun around to meet his gaze, the fire of rage and betrayal glowing in his amber eyes.

“Gideon… I—” My explanation was swallowed by the sting of his hand across my cheek, and I staggered backward, clutching my burning face.

“You… you struck me?” I croaked, my voice trembling at the edges, disbelief coating each word.

“And I swear, Selene, if anything happens to Brielle, you’ll regret it,” he hissed, venom lacing every syllable.

Before I could reply, he swept past me, moving with predatory speed, and lifted Brielle into his arms in a bridal carry. His voice, usually commanding, softened as he murmured soothing words into her fur, and within moments they had vanished down the hall.

I followed, but my thoughts roared louder than my legs could move. Accusations of my supposed cruelty to Brielle spun in my mind like a cyclone. He didn’t even glance back as he mounted his sleek black wolf-car and vanished into the night.

I reached for the passenger’s seat, but the door slammed shut with a growl as the car accelerated away, leaving me sprawled against the cold stone ground. My cheeks burned—not with the slap, but with humiliation—while the packhands lingering nearby exchanged whispers and furtive glances, as though I were some marked prey.

I summoned a carriage and returned to our den. Tears streamed freely as I looked upon the home we had shared for half a decade. Its halls echoed emptiness, mirroring the hollowness gnawing at my chest. How could Gideon assume so readily that I had harmed her, when the fall had been entirely her own doing?

I opened the wardrobe, methodically folding my garments into my travel bag. Deep down, I had gone to see Gideon hoping for reassurance, some fleeting shred of loyalty that might tether me to our bond. But now, every hope crumbled. His heart, I realized bitterly, had long since left me. There was no reason to cling to the shadows of a marriage that had dissolved into nothingness.

I had nearly filled the suitcase when the door slammed open. Gideon stormed in, his nostrils flaring, the heat of his anger radiating through the den. His gaze swept over me without a flicker of notice for my packing.

“Come with me,” he demanded, yanking my arm with the strength of an Alpha.

I wrenched free. “Let me go!”

“Now! Move!” he barked, his voice like a whip.

“Where are you taking me?” I groaned, planting my feet stubbornly.

It was futile—he was stronger, faster. Within moments, he had me in his grip, dragging me toward the waiting moon-lit streets.

“To the medics. You’re going to save her—she’s hurt because of you,” he snapped, his words sharp as fang and claw.

“I didn’t touch her! She fell on her own,” I protested.

“Lies, Selene!” His roar shook the air. “Your jealousy nearly cost a life! The least you can do is donate your blood so she survives!”

“But I—”

“I said no excuses!” His glare cut deeper than the forest shadows at midnight.

“Why would you trust an outsider over me?” I demanded, my voice cracking with disbelief.

“They all heard her screams. I heard them. You refused to listen, and you almost killed her!” His words drove me backward, into the sleek wolf-car he had summoned.

As he steered us toward the den of healers, clarity struck me like a claw through my chest: Brielle had orchestrated this. She had screamed, wailing, ensuring all witnessed my supposed cruelty. Even Gideon, my mate of five years, refused to believe me.

At the healer’s enclave, he dragged me into the emergency ward. Reluctantly, I followed, my claws gripping the leather of my sleeves in silent fury.

“If you care so much, why not just provide blood yourself?” I spat at him.

Gideon’s amber eyes hardened. “Her type isn’t stocked. The enclave is flooded with injured tonight—many lives need saving.”

The chief healer arrived, and Gideon gestured toward me. “She’s O+, please prepare her and save Brielle,” he implored, his voice unguarded, full of concern. The sight tore at my chest—he had never looked at me this way in the past three years.

Nurses and medics approached, securing my arms and injecting me with sedatives. Darkness claimed me, and the world dissolved.

When I awoke, the light stabbed at my eyes, and pain throbbed through my head and stomach. The room was empty. “Hello?” I called weakly.

The door swung open, and Gideon appeared, his expression carved from stone. “You’re lucky… Brielle survived,” he said, each word a jagged shard of judgment.

“What about me? Don’t you care if I’m okay?” I rasped.

“You’re not the one bleeding internally,” he snapped.

A healer entered, her eyes filled with sympathy. “Alpha Wolfe, you are her mate, correct?”

Gideon’s gaze fell on me with disdain. “I do not have such a malicious mate,” he said, before turning sharply and walking away, leaving my heart in splinters.

The healer sighed. “There’s something you should know, Selene.”

“What is it?” I asked, fear curdling in my stomach.

“Tests reveal… you were one month pregnant.”

I froze. “Were?”

“You lost the pup during the transfusion. I am so sorry,” she murmured.

My mind spun. “Why… why did you take my blood when I carried a pup?”

“Your mate approved it,” she replied gently.

“Did he… know?” I whispered, dread clawing at me.

“Yes,” she said quietly, and the words sank deep, leaving a hollow ache that no time could heal.

Selene

“Luna Selene?”

The healer’s voice drifted toward me like an echo in a cave, barely reaching through the crushing ache twisting my lower belly. My hands instinctively pressed against my abdomen as tears blurred my vision. For moons—years, even—I had prayed the Moon Goddess would bless me with a pup. Two winters ago, Gideon and I tried relentlessly, clinging to the hope that a child would steady our marriage, breathe life back into the bond that had been fading.

But then he’d sunk his claws into Brielle.

And once she slithered her way into his bed, he barely touched me anymore. The rare times he did, he was half‑drunk, his breath thick with ale, his wolf disinterested in me entirely. Even then, I kept hoping. I foolishly believed that an heir, a tiny heartbeat, would tether us together again.

Instead… Gideon had ordered the death of our pup.

Our innocent child—executed with a single command.

A fury unlike anything I’d ever known crackled through me. I refused to collapse beneath the pain, refusing to let grief tear me apart when betrayal already had.

“Luna Selene?” the healer called again, more firmly this time.

“That monstrous bastard,” I growled, my voice low and venomous.

With shaking fingers, I ripped out the IV embedded in my wrist. The sting was nothing compared to the agony inside me. I pushed off the cot and staggered toward the exit.

“Luna—please! You’ve lost too much blood. Your wolf needs time to mend. Come back—”

“Where,” I snarled, stopping just long enough to pin him with a deadly glare, “are Gideon and his mistress?”

The healer swallowed hard. “Luna, I—I don’t think—”

Another hard stare from me silenced him instantly. He lifted a trembling finger toward the adjoining room.

I shoved the door open.

There he was.

Gideon, Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, bending tenderly over Brielle, brushing stray strands of hair from her cheek as if she were his goddess‑given treasure.

“You vile creature,” I roared. “You filthy traitor!”

Gideon jerked up. Before he could utter a word, my palm cracked across his face with a force that echoed through the infirmary. He froze—stunned, speechless.

“That’s for murdering my pup,” I screamed, voice breaking.

“What in the spirits’ name is going on?” Brielle whimpered behind him, and the sound of her voice snapped something inside me.

“You pathetic little leech!” I lunged, hands reaching for her. “You ruined everything!”

But Gideon moved with Alpha speed, shoving me back to shield her. I hit the floor hard, a jolt of pain ripping through my abdomen as fresh blood seeped down my thighs.

“I hate you,” I sobbed, my wolf howling its grief inside me.

“Get up, Selene,” he said coldly, his tone devoid of even a shred of remorse. “Return to your room and clean yourself.”

I stared up at him, heart shattering anew. “How can you stand there pretending nothing happened when you ordered our pup’s death? Our pup, Gideon!”

“You were the sole compatible donor for Brielle,” he said flatly. “Should I have let her die?”

“So you decided my child’s life was worth less than your lover’s,” I hissed.

“Do not speak about Brielle like that!” he barked. “And the pup wasn’t meant to be harmed. If you lost it—maybe it’s because you were never meant to be a mother.”

His words were sharper than claws. I recoiled as if physically struck.

“Gideon,” Brielle whispered shakily, “don’t say that. Selene is hurting. This is my fault…”

I pushed myself upright, swaying as I stood. The world felt distant, muffled, unreal. I walked out of the room without looking back, his voice still shredding my mind.

“You’ll regret this,” I muttered, though my throat was raw and my heart was in ruins.

A nurse helped me clean up, but I spoke no words. I stared at nothing. I felt nothing.

Two days passed this way—silent, hollow—until the healers finally discharged me.

When I returned to the Alpha’s house, it comforted me only that Gideon hadn’t come home either. His scent wasn’t anywhere near the property.

I gathered my things, moving mechanically. A thick envelope lay atop my luggage—delivered while I was gone. I slit it open and exhaled shakily.

The Moon Court’s seal.

Our divorce decree. Already stamped. Already approved.

All that remained was my signature.

My hand did not tremble as I signed it. The document lay on the bed—final, irreversible.

Gideon had made his choice long ago.

He chose Brielle.

He chose power, ego, lust—anything but me.

And after what he’d done… after what he took from me and our unborn pup… there was no path back.

A sob clawed up my throat, but I forced it down. I refused to let a single more tear fall for them.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the house that had once been my home.

An Uber waited by the gate and carried me straight to the airport.

As I sat at the terminal, waiting for my flight, my phone buzzed.

Gideon’s name lit the screen.

I answered only because I wanted closure.

“What is this crap on the bed, Selene?” Gideon snarled. “Where the hell are you?”

“It’s our divorce decree,” I said coolly. “Sign it. Our bond is over.”

Silence stretched for several seconds before his voice returned—angry, incredulous.

“You don’t mean that. And you have nowhere to go—you have nothing without me. I’ve provided for you all these years. Come back and stop acting insane.”

“Don’t ever call this number again,” I said softly. “Or I swear, Gideon… you’ll regret ever marking me.”

“Selene—wait—”

I ended the call. Removed the SIM card. Snapped it. Tossed it.

My flight began boarding. I Selene, heart heavy but resolute.

Five long years have passed since that day.

And now I am returning.

Returning to reclaim my life.

Returning to fulfill the expectations my parents once had for me.

And most of all—

I am coming back to make Gideon and Brielle answer for the pup they murdered.

For the life they stole.

For the wolf they shattered.

They will pay. The Moon Goddess is my witness.